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How much margin is there in commercial pizza?

If you’ve ever found yourself drawn into a restaurant by the delightful smell of pizza cooking, you might have been tempted to look into pizza making as a business. Here is a look at what to expect as you turn that dream into reality.

There is plenty of competition out there and much of it is ruthless, so getting your facts right before you start is a good idea. This article from The Caterer is a useful starting point.

What kind of pizza?

Pizza is such a popular food type and is available in so many variants that it can be daunting to choose the one you are keen to make. You could go for very basic standardised ingredients, but you’ll find a lot of competition. Alternatively, you could aim at the artisanal pizza market, with specialised ingredient mixes and toppings. This could be risky, however; are you sure your preferred taste will sell in hundreds? The traditional Neapolitan pizza is growing in popularity, but this requires very particular ingredients and cooking methods.

How to cook it

Pizza has been popular in the UK since 1965, and it has been big in America for a lot longer than that. Most of that market has used electric ovens to cook the pizzas. In Italy, pizza is traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven, and these are now growing in popularity in the UK. These pizza ovens use oak wood as fuel and cook at 485 degrees Celsius.

Yes, there are profits to be made by selling pizza. Like any new business, a lot of effort and imagination will be required, with plenty of chances of failure to overcome. However, it remains a very popular food choice with reasonably low ingredient costs. Don’t forget that premises, fuel, staff, delivery, and publicity will all cost money. Franchising is also possible, giving you the security of a known brand and plenty of back-up. Despite all the cautions, it remains a buoyant area of business, so it is worth following your dream.